Swimming pool circulation system

ABSTRACT

A circulation system for a swimming pool having a peripheral gutter, a peripheral conduit adjacent the gutter, a main drain and a filter means for selectively pumping water from the filter to the peripheral conduit for discharge into the pool, or, alternatively, reversing the flow to draw water from the gutter into the conduit and return the water from the conduit to the filter, the filtered water being introduced from the filter to the pool through the main drain. The reverse flow system permits the pool to accommodate unusually great quantities of water flowing into the gutters.

' United States Patent [191 Ogden SWIMMING POOL CIRCULATION SYSTEM [75]Inventor: John F. Ogden, Columbus, Ohio [73] Assignee: Lifetime MetalProducts, Inc.,

Columbus, Ohio [22] Filed: May 9, 1974 [21] Appl. No.: 468,426

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 4/1966 Miller ..4/l72.176/1974 Baker ..4/l72.l7

[4 Nov. 4, 1975 Primary ExaminerRichard E. Aegerter AssistantExaminerSteven L. Stephan Attorney, Agent, or FirmWood, Herron & Evans[57] ABSTRACT A circulation system for a swimming pool having aperipheral gutter, a peripheral conduit adjacent the gutter, a maindrain and a filter means for selectively pumping water from the filterto the peripheral conduit for discharge into the pool, or,alternatively, reversing the flow to draw water from the gutter into theconduit and return the water from the conduit to the filter, thefiltered water being introduced from the filter to the pool through themain drain. The reverse flow system permits the pool to accommodateunusually great quantities of water flowing into the gutters.

8 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures US. Patent NOV.4, 1975 Sheet2of2 I 3,916,458I 1 SWIMMING POOL CIRCULATION SYSTEM This invention relates to swimmingpools, and more particularly, to a swimming pool circulation system.

The problem to which the invention is addressed arises out of the needto remove unusually great quantities of water from a swimming poolgutter without the expense of a large number of gutter drains spacedaround the perimeter of the pool. That problem of unusually greatquantities of water which the gutter must accommodate arises in partfrom a demand for faster" pools, that is, pools in which there is aminimum of splash-back of water resulting from waves created byswimmers, the waves crashing into the pool walls and splashing back intothe paths of the swimmers. The splash-back problem has been alleviatedin part by the design of a swimming pool gutter as shown in Ogden U.S.Pat. No. 2,932,397. There, a peripheral gutter is formed by an innerwall which serves as an inlet for water from the pool filter. The backwall of the gutter includes an upwardly and inwardly inclined copingwhich, when engaged by water splashed out of the pool, directs thesplashed water downwardly into the gutter, thereby minimizing thesplash-back into the pool.

conventionally, a pool with this gutter construction is operated withthe level -of the water being slightly below the inner gutter wall. Inthis mode of operation, the gutter has sufficient capacity toaccommodate the water splashed into it as an incident of pool activityand to cause it to flow back to the filter.

In a competitive swim meet, however, it is found desirable to raise thelevel of the pool water to a point of just overflowing the inner gutterwall so that there is no upwardly projecting gutter wall to cause anysplashback. Under those swim meet conditions, however, the capacity ofthe gutter may be strained to the point of continuously overflowing,thereby creating even a less desirable, or slower, pool than the pooloperating conventionally.

In addition to the splash-back considerations, health officials areconcerned that surface-born contaminates, if collected in a gutter andthereafter splashed back, can create health hazards in a pool. This canoccur not only during a swim meet but also during an excessively hot daywhen a larger number of people are in a swimming pool displacing morewater and causing turbulence, the waves making surges of water into thegutter.

It has been an objective of the invention to reduce splash-back frompool walls and to reduce splash-back of water collected in gutters byincreasing the capability of the pool circulation system to remove waterfrom gutters. More particularly, it is a feature of the invention toprovide means for positively pumping water out of the gutters byconnecting a conduit forming a wall adjacent the gutter to a pump andproviding ports i the conduit to receive water from the gutter.

Another objective of the invention has been to provide a poolcirculation system which permits water to be introduced into the poolvia the main drain, to overflow the gutter walls and to be pumped backto the filter out of the gutter walls through a conduit forming one ofthe gutter walls.

It has been another objective of the invention to provide a poolcirculation system in which the water may be circulated in the pool in aconventional manner wherein the water is withdrawn from the main drainand returned to the filter and inwhich the circulation system can bereversed to provide for introduction of filtered water into the pool viathe main drain and return to the filter via the gutter and conduitadjacent the gutter. Preferably, a dual flow system as described aboveis achieved by providing the conduit, which forms the inner gutter wall,with two sets of one-way valves spaced around the perimeter of the pool.The firstset, on the pool side, permits water to flow only from theconduit into the pool. The second set, located on the gutter side,permits water to flow only from the gutter into the conduit. A pumpingsystem is provided to drive water from the filter into the conduit, thewater then being directedin'to the pool from the conduit. When thepumping system is reversed, water is positively withdrawn from theconduit, the source of water beingthat which has flowed into the gutteras by splashing and/or raising the pool level so that there is aconstant overflow into the gutter. The filtered water is then introducedfrom the filter into the pool through the main drain.

It is a further feature of the invention to provide sensors andregulatable valves controlled by the sensors to control the level of thewater in the filter as well as the level of the water in the gutter sothat proper levels can be maintained to avoid drawing air into thepumping system.

Another desirable feature of the invention resides in the fact that itcan be applied to existing pools constructed in accordance with OgdenUS. Pat. No. 2,932,397 without major structural changes. Thus, the poolsmay be economically converted to the dual flow system of the presentinvention.

The several objectives and features of the invention will become morereadily apparent from the following detailed description taken inconjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic view'of a circulation system in accordance withthe present invention. The lines and valves which are normally employedin a circulation system but which arenot involved in the operation ofthe present invention have been omitted for the sake of clarity;

FIG. 2 is a view similar to FIG. 1 illustrating the condition of thevalves for conventional circulation operation;

FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIG. 1 showing the condition of the valvesfor reverse flow operation;

FIG. 4 is a plan view of a pool employing the invention particularlyillustrating a main drain structure;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary perspective view of a gutter section employingone-way valves in accordance with the present invention; '1

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary perspective view of the gutter section of FIG. 5viewed from the opposite side but with the screening removed; and

FIG. 7 is a disassembled perspective view of a oneway or poppet valve.

The swimming pool with which the present invention is used isdiagrammatically illustrated in FIG. 4. It includes the pool area 10enclosed by pool walls 11. Positioned on top of the pool walls is aperipheral gutter 12 whose inside wall I3forms a conduit normallyemployed for the distribution of water into the pool. Spaced around theperimeter of the conduit 13 are valved openings 14, each provided with aone-way valve which premits discharge of water into the pool when wateris pumped under pressure into the conduit The pool has a main drain 16at its deep end. The main drain preferably extends transversely over asubstantial portion of the width of the pool and is provided withsuitable baffles so as to permit water to be introduced, during reverseflow operation, over substantially the entire area of the main drain,thereby minimizing the possibility of creating an area of highturbulence in the center of the pool during the reverse flow operation.

A filter 20 and pump room 21 are located alongside the pool, the filterin the illustrated embodiment being a vacuum diatomite system. Thefilter and pump room are connected to the pool by a pool supply line 23which is in communication with the peripheral conduit 13; a gutterreturn conduit 24 which is in communication with the peripheral gutter12 and a main drain line 25 in communication with the main drain 16.

The manner in which the conduits 23, 24 and 25 are connected to thepumps and filters for conventional and reverse flow operation isillustrated in FIG. 1. There, a filter tank 28 normally filled withwater at a level 29 contains a plurality of diatomaceous earthcoveredfilter elements 30. The filters are connected through a line 32 to thelow pressure side 33 of a circulating main pump 34. The high pressureside of the pump 34 is connected through lines 35, 36 and 23 to theconduit 13. The conduit 13 has one-way valved ports 14, spaced aroundits perimeter. The ports 14 permit water to be directed into the poolonly when water is delivered under pressure from pump 34. A seriesconnected valve 37, normally open for conventional operation, isconnected in the line 36. Line contains a series connected modulatingvalve 39 which is controlled by a sensor 40, such as a float, located atapproximately the desired water level in the filter tank 28. The valve39 functions to regulate the flow from the pump to maintain a properlevel of water covering the filter elements.

The gutter 12 is connected by the gutter return line 24 through amodulating valve 42 to the tank 28. The modulating valve is connected toa sensor 43, such as a float-operated sensor, the sensor 43 beinglocated in the gutter 12 at approximately the maximum level of water inthe gutter. The sensor 43 and modulating valve 42 function to maintain aproper level of water in the gutter during a reverse flow operation.

The pool main drain 16 is connected through the line 25 and a line 45 tothe tank 28. A normally open valve 46 is series connected in line 45.The pool main drain and line 25 are adapted to be connected to the highpressure side of the pump 34 by a line 47 which is connected between theline 35 and the pool main drain. The line 47 has a series connectedvalve 50 which is closed during conventional operation.

The pump room contains an auxiliary circulating pump 51 having a lowpressure side 52 connected through a line 53 to the pool supply line 23and conduit 13. A series connected valve 54 is in line 53 and isnormally closed during conventional operation.

The conduit 13 has a plurality of one-way valve ports 55 spaced aroundthe perimeter of the conduit 13, the valves 55 communicating with thegutter 12. The one-way valves permit water to flow only from the gutterinto the conduit 13 when the gutter is filled and the conduit 13 isconnected to the low pressure side of the pump 51. The high pressureside of the pump 51 is connected by a line 56 to the filter tank.

One form of gutter and valve construction is illustrated in FIGS. 5-7.The gutter section 12 has a conduit 13 forming itsinside wall. Aplurality of the valved ports 14 are mounted on the inside wall of theconduit 13. While the spacing and size of the valves will vary dependingupon the particular pool structure, pump size and the like, a spacing ofports 14 on three foot centers with the port size being equivalent to a3/16 inch diameter h'ole will normally prove satisfactory, As shown inFIG. 6, similar ports 55 with substantially the same spacing areemployed in the conduit 13 in communication with the open portion of thegutter 12. The ports 55 should be placed closely adjacent the bottomwall of the gutter so as to provide additional assurance of their beingcompletely covered with Water at all times during the reverse flowoperation. I The one-way valve forming the valved port 14 is preferablyof a poppet valve construction, as shown in FIG. 7. The valve includes asleeve 60 having angulated vanes 61 secured to its outwardly facing end62. The vanes 61 serve two valuable functions. In the ports 14 whichdirect water into the pool, the vanes are oriented to direct the flow ofwater at approximately 45 downwardly into the pool so as to provideassurance that the filtered water introduced into the pool is directedforcibly downwardly to bring the newly chlorinated water well below thesurface of the pool water.

On the gutter side of the conduit 13 where water is drawn from thegutter through the valve into the conduit 13, the vanes serve adifferent function of screening out debris as the water is drawn intothe conduit, thereby avoiding fouling the pumps associated with thesystem.

The poppet valve includes poppet body 63 having a semi-cylindrical bore64 therethrough. A flexible plastic flapper 65 is secured by means of ascrew 66 and washer 67 to the body to cover the bore 64. The body has anoutside diameter substantially the same as the inside diameter of thesleeve 60 to enable the body to be press-fitted into the sleeve. Thebody has a collar 59 intermediate its ends which bears against the endof the sleeve 60 to space the flapper away from the vaned end of thesleeve, thereby permitting the flapper to swing to open position whenwater is directed through the bore 64. The flapper will close when thewater pressure is in the opposite direction, thereby blocking flow ofwater through the bore 64. The valve when assembled has an O-ring 68slid over the sleeve and the valve is press-fitted into a hole in theconduit 13.

The valve 55 communicating with the gutter is similar to the valve 14communicating with the pool except that the orientation of the poppetbody and flapper is reversed so as to control the flow of water in theopposite direction. The flapper is surrounded by a cupshaped housing(not shown) having holes therein to permit the flow of water.

As viewed in FIG. 5, the gutter 12 is preferably covered with aperforated plate or mesh which, along with the vanes 61 of the poppetvalve, serves to screen out debris from entering the gutter. Thescreening 80 is particularly useful in outdoor pool construction butwould not normally be required for an indoor pool.

The conventional operation of the system is illustrated in FIG. 2.There, as illustrated by the bold lines and arrows, water is returned tothe filter from the main drain through the normally open valve 46 and isreturned to .the filter from the gutter through the modulating valve 42.Since under the conventional condition of operation the water in thegutter will be low, the sensor 43 will maintain the valve 42 in a wideopen condition.

Water is drawn from the tank through the filter ele ments and into thepump 34 through the line 32. Water exiting from the pump 34 under highpressure flows to the conduit 13 via the lines 35, 36 and pool supplyline 23. The one-way valved port 14 in the conduit 13 permits the waterto be discharged into the pool, preferably in the form of downwardlydirected jets. In this condition of operation the valve 37 is open topermit flow to the pool supply line 23 and the valve 50 is closed toblock flow to the pool drain line 25.

When it is desired to operate in a reverse flow condition, the level ofthe pool is raised until there is a slight amount of water flowing overthe conduit 13 into the gutter 12. The condition of the valves anddirection of flow is illustrated in FIG. 3. The water in the gutter willbe returned by gravity flow through the gutter return 24. Its rate ofreturn will be governed by the sensor 43 which controls valve 42 in theline 24 to maintain the level of the water in the gutter high enough toprovide assurance that the one-way valved ports 55 are cov ered, forotherwise the valves might draw air into the pump 51 and cause it tocavitate.

Water is also returned to the tank through the pool supply line 23, line53, valve 54, pump 51 and line 56. Under this condition of operation,the valve 54 is open. The water is drawn into the line 23 from thegutter 12 through the one-way valved ports 55. Thus, water splashed andflowing into the gutter during times of high activity as, for example, acompetitive swim meet, is withdrawn from the gutter at a much higherrate than normal through the conventional gravity flow to the gutterreturn line 24 and through the pumping action drawing it out of thegutter through the valved ports 55 to the line 23. It is returned to thepool under the conditions of reverse flow through the pool main drainvia line 25, line 47, valve 50, line 35, valve 39 and the first pump 34.In this condition of operation the valve 46 is closed, the valve 50 isopen and the valve 39 is regulated by the sensor 40 on the tank toprovide assurance that the water level in the tank is maintained aboveand covering the filter elements 30. The two sensors 40, 43, asindicated above, function to balance the flow of water in the system,and more importantly, to maintain the level of the water in the gutterand tank above the valved ports 55 and filter elements 30, respectively,to eliminate the possibility of drawing air into the pumps.

It can be seen from the foregoing that a principal element of thecombination is the conduit 13 with its oneway valved ports permittingflow from the conduit into the pool through ports 14 during conventionaloperation, and from the gutter into the conduit through ports 55 duringreverse flow operation.

It can also be seen that if it is desired to operate the poolcontinuously on a reverse flow condition, the ports 14 could beeliminated.

The conduit 13 does not necessarily have to form the inner wall of thegutter as illustrated, but it should be adjacent the gutter to permitflow of gutter water through the ports 55.

I claim:

1. In a recirculating system for swimming pools having a filter, agutter for return of water to the filter, a main drain connected to saidfilter, a conduit forming at least a portion of a wall between thegutter and the pool, and pump means for circulating water from saidfilter to said pool, the improvement comprising,

a plurality of one-way valves on the pool side of said conduit directingflow of water from said conduit into said pool,

a plurality of one-way valves on the gutter side of said conduit drawingwater from said gutter into said conduit,

and means for selectively:

a. circulating water from said filter to said conduit, pool and maindrain with water returning to said filter, and

b. circulating water from said filter to said main drain and pool, thewater from the pool overflowing into said gutter and being returned tosaid fil ter via said conduit.

2. A circulating system as in claim 1 in which said pump meanscomprises,

a main pump having a low pressure side connected to said filters and ahigh pressure side selectively connectable tosaid conduit and maindrain,

and an auxiliary pump having a low pressure side connected to saidconduit and a high pressure side connected to said filter.

3. A circulating system as in claim 1 and valve means controlling therate of flow of water from said gutter to said filter.

4. A recirculating system as in claim 1 further comprising,

a water level sensor in said filter,

valve means controlled by said sensor to regulate the flow of water fromsaid filter to maintain a proper level of water in said filter.

5. a recirculating system as in claim 1 in which said main drain extendstransversely across at least one-half the width of the pool.

6. A recirculating system as in claim 1 in which the one-way valves onthe gutter side of said conduit have a plurality of debris-strainingvanes fixed to the inlet end of the valve.

7. A recirculating system as in claim 1 in which the valves on the poolside of said conduit have a plurality of angulated vanes on the outletend of the valves, the vanes being oriented to direct water downwardlyinto the pool.

8. A recirculating system as in claim 1 further comprising,

a screen covering said gutter to strain debris from entering the gutter.

1. In a recirculating system for swimming pools having a filter, agutter for return of water to the filter, a main drain connected to saidfilter, a conduit forming at least a portion of a wall between thegutter and the pool, and pump means for circulating water from saidfilter to said pool, the improvement comprising, a plurality of one-wayvalves on the pool side of said conduit directing flow of water fromsaid conduit into said pool, a plurality of one-way valves on the gutterside of said conduit drawing water from said gutter into said conduit,and means for selectively: a. circulating water from said filter to saidconduit, pool and main drain with water returning to said filter, and b.circulating water from said filter to said main drain and pool, thewater from the pool overflowing into said gutter and being returned tosaid filter via said conduit.
 2. A circulating system as in claim 1 inwhich said pump means comprises, a main pump having a low pressure sideconnected to said filters and a high pressure side selectivelyconnectable to said conduit and main drain, and an auxiliary pump havinga low pressure side connected to said conduit and a high pressure sideconnected to said filter.
 3. A circulating system as in claim 1 andvalve means controlling the rate of flow of water from said gutter tosaid filter.
 4. A recirculating system as in claim 1 further comprising,a water level sensor in said filter, valve means controlled by saidsensor to regulate the flow of water from said filter to maintain aproper level of water in said filter.
 5. a recirculating system as inclaim 1 in which said main drain extends transversely across at leastone-half the width of the poOl.
 6. A recirculating system as in claim 1in which the one-way valves on the gutter side of said conduit have aplurality of debris-straining vanes fixed to the inlet end of the valve.7. A recirculating system as in claim 1 in which the valves on the poolside of said conduit have a plurality of angulated vanes on the outletend of the valves, the vanes being oriented to direct water downwardlyinto the pool.
 8. A recirculating system as in claim 1 furthercomprising, a screen covering said gutter to strain debris from enteringthe gutter.